Latch



March 19, 1935.

G. E. ROEDDING LATCH Filed Sept. 14, 1932 I N V EN TOR. dry/ BY KZ'EZ M4 KI A TTORNEYJ Patented Mar. 19, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

LATCH Gordon E. Roedding, Grand Rapids. Mich., assignor to Grand Rapids Brass Company.- Grand Rapids, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application September 14, 1932, Serial No. 633,095

"6 Claims. (Cl. 292-226) member on which it is mounted to angularly spaced operative positionsin which it may be re lcasably held.

This and any other and more specific objects hereinafter appearing are attained by, and the invention finds preferable embodiment in, the illustrative structure particularly described in the body of this specification and illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a door closure and door jamb and of a latch structure, taken on a plane corresponding to line 11 of Figures 3, 4' and 5;

Figure 2 is a similar view thereof the parts in another position;

Figure 3 is a sectional view of thelatch structure taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of parts thereof taken on line 4-4 of'Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a plan view of parts of said structure; and

Figure 6 is an edgewise view of the same.

In the drawing is shown a latch structure mounted on a swingable closure door member 1, its keeper or strike 2 being mounted on the other door member, the jamb or door frame 3.

This latch structure has a latch bolt -4 desirbut showing ably formed of sheet metal and pivotally mounted at 5 on the opposite sides 6 0f the structure's inwardly extending sheet metal member 7 whose middle portion 8 has van opening 9 through which the latch bolt projects. This member '7 is shown fastened to the inner plate 10 of the latch casing 11 by bent-over tongues 12 extending through slot openings 13 in said plate.

The bolt 4 is pressed into latching engagement with its keeper 2 by a coiled spring 14 surrounding a bar 15 which has a rocking movement at its ends in internal angle 16 of the bolt and on the abutment 18 of member 7, this spring pressing thereon and on the abutment 17 of the bar.

Means for retracting the bolt 4 from the keeper includes a handle 19 whose portion 20 is adapted to be grasped by hand. This handle is mounted for operative (bolt-retracting) movement and for turning movement, parallel with the face of the closure member 1, toward angularly spaced positions in which it is thus operative and in which it is releasably held. These movements may be brought about in various ways and by various mechanisms.

The specific illustrated mechanism for these purposes comprises the following: 1

A flat member, in form a round disk or plate 21, is mounted on the closure member 1 inside the latch casing 11 and normally is yieldingly pressed by a curved spring 24 against the casing's inner surface as seen in Figure 1, this spring at its middle bearing on the inner side of said plate (or its projecting tongue 32), its ends being secured at 37 on the plate, and between these 10 points being bowed inwardly and bearing on the casings inner plate 10. r

The handle 19 has a pivot'pin 25 parallel with the closures face 22, in an openbearing 26 in plate 21, the handle thus having a swinging movement in a plane at right angles to the closures face. Suitable motion-transmitting means operatively intermediate the handleand the bolt for retracting the same by the handles swinging movement from the closure are pr0vided, specific means as illustrated by the drawing being the following:

The handle is a lever fulcrumed at 25 and has an arm 27 extending inwardly through the opening 31 in plate 21 which arm in the operative swinging movement of the handle, caused by drawing its portion 20 outwardly from the closure member, engages the inner surface of a flange 28 of the bolt, which surface forms a cam bearing having a middle or bight portion'29 and inclined end portions 30 as best seen in Figure 4.

When the handle 19 is in the turned position seen in Figure 1 the arm will engage in said bight portion, when the handles portion 20 is swung outwardly, to retract the bolt; but when the handle is turned parallelly with the face of the closure (as hereinafter explained) about 90 degrees either way from that position, said arm will engage one or the other of the inclined portions 30 of the cam bearing to retract the bolt; and if the handle be turned 180 degrees from the position seen in Figure 1 the arm 27 in such swinging movement of the handle will not engage any part of said cam bearing and therefore such of the handle will not retract wardly (toward the closure) so that its shoulder 38 pressing on the plate tilts the same thus inwardly on the fulcrum of its legs 23 (adjacent the plates edge which is opposite its tongue 32) bearing on the casings plate 10. Thus released, the plate 21 and handle may be turned parallelly with the closures face 22 to any other angular position, the legs 23 in such turning movement sliding around on the casings plate 10. The pivot pin '25 is held in bearing 26 of plate 21, when the handles portion 20 is drawn outwardly to retract the bolt, by the casings front wall 40 which overhangs the plate 21.

It will be seen that the operating handle 19,

may be turned parallelly with the face of the closure door member to opposite (vertical) positions to adapt the latch structure to closures which are hinged at their right or left hand side, and also to a (horizontal) position as may be desired by the user, as well as to an opposite (horizontal) position in which the handle is inoperative to retract the bolt" and thus in effect locks the closure shut.

A spring 41 coiled about thepivot pin 25 and seated in the cut-out portion 42 of the handle presses its portion 20 inwardly.

The invention being intended to be pointed out in the claims, is not to be limited to or by details of construction of the particular embodiment thereof illustrated by the drawing or hereinbefore described.

I claim:

1. In a latch structure including a latching bolt, means for retracting the bolt comprising: a plate mounted on a door member turnable parallelly with the face ofsaid door member toward angularly spaced operative positions of the hereinafter-mentioned handle; a handle mounted on the plate swingable in planes transverse to said face and having an'inwardly extending arm, the bolt having a curved bearing on which said arm bears in the swinging movement of the handle to retract the bolt.

2. In a latch structure including a latching bolt, means for retracting the bolt comprising:

' a plate mounted on a door member turnable parallelly with the face of said door member toward angularly spaced positions, the plate being tiltable on a fulcrum on said door member in planes transverse to said face; a handle mounted on the plate swingable in such transverse planes and having an inwardly extending armengaging the bolt in the swinging movement of the handle to retract the bolt, the plate and said door member having mutually engaging parts for releasably holding the platein turned positions, said parts being engaged and disengaged by the tilting movements of the plate.

movement of the handle to retract the bolt, the

plate and said door member having mutually engaging parts for releasably holding the plate in turned positions, said parts being engaged and disengaged by, the tilting movements of the plate.

4. In a latch structure including a latching bolt, means for retracting the bolt comprising: a plate mounted on a door member turnable parallelly with the face of said door member toward operative positions of the hereinafter-mentioned handle and toward an inoperative position thereof and tiltable inwardly on a fulcrum on said door member in planes transverse to said face; a handle mounted on the plate swingable outwardly in such transverse planes and having an inwardly extending arm, the bolt having a cam bearing including a bight portion and inclined end portions on which said arm bears in the outwardly swinging operative movement of the handle to retract the bolt, the plate and said door member having mutually engaging parts for releasably' holding the plate in turned positions, the plate being tiltable inwardly by the inwardly swinging movement of the handle to disengage said parts.

5. In a latch structure including a latching bolt, means for retracting the bolt comprising: a handle carried by a door member swingable in a plane transverse to the face of said member and having an inwardly extending arm, the bolt havand inclined end portions on which said arm bears in the swinging movement of the handle to retract the bolt, the handle having also a tuming movement parallel with said face toward angularly spaced operative positions.

GORDON E. ROEDDING. 

